A man who vanished from an Irish town with the body of his dead mother is believed to have taken her to the family burial plot in England, it has emerged.

The elderly woman, thought to be in her 90s, died in late September in Malta and her son had her remains flown to London.

Authorities believe he then placed the coffin in a car and drove from Gatwick Airport to Ireland, without declaring the body at customs.

Gardai were alerted about two weeks later when the woman's body was discovered by the man's landlord at his rented house in Kenmare, Co Kerry. It is believed the man kept his mother's remains for around six weeks.

A garda spokesman said local officers believed the man has now returned to England for a burial.

"We believe he has returned to the south of England where the family burial plot is and a burial will take place if the body has not already been interred," a spokesman said.

The woman had been on the Mediterranean island when she became ill with pneumonia and died on September 24.

Kerry South East coroner Terence Casey said he was contacted on October 14 and warned the man the next day through gardai that he deal with the body or it would be removed and placed in cold storage.

The man had apparently enquired about trying to find a plot of land in the Kenmare area to bury her.

It is understood that Irish authorities do not believe the man has committed a criminal offence.